Briganti Eleganti. L'arte della moda maschile

Conceived and curated by Stefano Dominella, a leading name in Made in Italy fashion, and with styling by Guillermo Mariotto, Briganti Eleganti. L'arte della moda maschile (Elegant Brigands.The Art of Men's Fashion) is an imaginative journey traceable above all among the archetypes of men's fashion embodied in the epic figure of the brigands, active, in particular, in post-Unification Southern Italy.

Over the years, recounted in all sorts of sauces and filtered through a historical and socio-political lens, brigands, famous or infamous, are always distinguished by their exploits first handed down, then sublimated, and often mythologised by popular imagination.

And so at MAXXI, a riot of astonishing wide-brimmed hats, life-saving cloaks and velvet utility jackets - that seem to have been stolen from the wardrobe of a contemporary dandy to create real looks with an unmistakable style - is on stage amidst extraordinary costumes and an ad hoc set design.

Briganti Eleganti. L’arte della moda maschile thus tells the story of theevolution of a now iconic outfit, as the brigand, who always wanted to stand out, combined bourgeois clothes with fragments of military uniforms that bear witness to a heroic past that turned into extravagant elegance.

The mannequins, reinvented by Guillermo Mariotto, wear leather masks that give them new life.

Also on display is Saint Leonard of Noblac, protector of brigands, housed in the votive aedicule created by artist Federico Paris.

The musical score composed for the occasion by Lorenzo Lepore, Luca Valenti and Guillermo Mariotto accompanies you on this evocative journey.

On display are loans from the Museo delle Civiltà's collections of popular arts and traditions and from important fashion houses, documents from the Archivio Centrale dello Stato, the Biblioteca di storia moderna e contemporanea - Rome, the Istituto per la Storia del Risorgimento Italiano and the Museo Centrale del Risorgimento in Rome, the Museo Nazionale del Risorgimento Italiano in Turin, the historical archives of the Museo di Antropologia Criminale "Cesare Lombroso" Università di Torino, and the Museo Internazionale delle Marionette Antonio Pasqualino in Palermo.

Realised in collaboration with Netflix, the exhibition also presents images and material from Briganti, the Italian series produced by Fabula Pictures and to be released on 23 April.

Credits: Francesco Berardinelli/Netflix